Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations a little out of our depth.

Last week was a good example.

We visited Ginett Restaurant and Wine Bar for a “masterclass”, which features a 5-course French menu with wine pairings.

We thought that it was merely a class.

Until we walked into the classroom...

Considering the fact that my drink of choice is milo peng, I started to feel a little bit out of place in my crumpled old clothes.

Some might say that wine is both an art and a science. Sadly, I was not particularly outstanding in either art or science in my school days.

After four glasses of wine, however, things started to look up. I was getting high. No, I wasn’t drunk. I was rising up in SES.

Here are four things I learned about appreciating good food and wine.

1. Don’t be hao lian: Show, not tell

If you’ve taken a creative writing class in school or elsewhere, chances are you’ve heard the saying “show, not tell”. It works the same with wine.

I’ve always been a little skeptical of wine tasters who use terms like “woody” and “fruity”.

Naturally, I was surprised when I was told to take note of how the wine I was having (Sancerre White, Domaine Raimbault 2016) had “crispy, dry, citrusy lime flavours” – and I actually tasted those flavours.

I’m told that it comes from the rain, as it filters through limestone deposits in the soil of the Loire Valley vineyards.

If you really want to impress your boss/girlfriend/boyfriend/ex-lover, don’t just keep dropping names of wines that most of us can barely pronounce.

Instead, do a little research about the wine that you will be drinking.

Get an idea of the geography of the region, the type of soil, and the kind of grapes that are grown there.

It makes a difference.

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2. It’s good to geh kiang (sometimes)

If, like me, you had a few bad experiences with wine, don’t write it off just yet.

Maybe you had the right wine in the wrong conditions

Or you had the wrong wine in the right conditions.

Or, you had the wrong wine in the wrong conditions.

You get the idea.

Timing is everything.

A driver who drives past an ERP gantry at 8:59am certainly feels much better than one who drives past the gantry at 9:01am.

The same goes for wines.

I was surprised to taste a white wine (Saint Joseph, Domaine Pichon 2016) which was full of flavour, and had a rich, almost creamy taste, which was a big contrast to the usual lighter kind of white wine I was used to.

I actually liked it.

3. There are many possible ways to make a perfect match

Like how you’re still together with the atas-looking cute girl you swiped right on last year, even though your first instinct was that you guys had nothing in common then.

Likewise, there are many ways to pair wine with food.

Traditional advice is to pair “red wines with red meats” and “white wines with fish”. While this is generally correct, it isn’t a hard and fast rule.

In some cases, the cooking method plays a part in the pairing as well.

Light wine complements light flavours, like grilled seafood. Similarly, heavier, full-bodied wines complement the stronger flavours, of creamy, rich foods.

However, it’s also possible to contrast your wine with your food.

Think about it this way: if you are going to have a hearty zi char meal with your friends, you’ll probably prefer a refreshing lime juice over a rich milo dinosaur.

This is why when we had our cheese platter, we were served a light, spicy red wine (Pic Saint Loup, “La Ceremonie” 2015) which was described as “long”, because of how long the flavour remained on our palates.

This helped to balance out the richness of cheese, and, surprisingly, we finished it all (including the strong, pungent blue cheese).

Another easy-to-remember tip is that wine and food from the same region tend to go well together.

We had a light, fruity white wine from Sancerre (Sancerre White, Domaine Raimbault 2016) with a delicious gratinated pike fish dumpling, baked in Chardonnay sauce.

It was by far my favourite pairing for the evening.

4. Every wine is a good wine (corked joke but true)

If all else fails, remember that the foolproof wine-lover’s formula is:

Good wine = wine you enjoy

We were served a beef dish with two different red wines.

One was stronger and spicier, (Côte-Rôtie Promesse, Domaine Pichon 2014) which competed with the richness of the slow-cooked beef.

The other was lighter and sweeter (Vaqueras, Domaine d’Ourea 2015), which helped to cut through the intense flavours.

It was interesting to note that both wines would be considered a good match for the dish, but which wine you would eventually choose is simply a matter of what you enjoy more.

The masterclass is already sold out, but if you’re raring to give your tastebuds a shot at wine-tasting and food pairing, look out for Ginett’s next session in September.

And, if you can’t wait that long, their wide selection of wines from France are priced affordably, thanks to their all-day happy hour policy.

There's also a whole host of promotions, such as 1-for-1 main courses on Monday night, 1-for-1 Grand Cru wines, and Ladies Night on Tuesday (psst, free flow bubbly).

Overall, we had a lot of fun despite our noobness and initial reservations regarding wine pairing events like this.

After all, everything looks better through rosé-tinted glasses ;)

Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar

200 Middle Rd

Singapore 188980

Open: 7:00am to 11:30pm

Top image from Hotel G Singapore